'Rachel' won't run in Breeders'

DIGEST

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, September 12, 2009

Despite the lure of an extra $1 million by the Breeders' Cup, Rachel Alexandra's co-owner said his sensational 3-year-old filly won't run in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park on Nov. 7.

Jess Jackson said late Friday he was humbled by the interest Rachel Alexandra has generated, but "Rachel already has completed a brilliant long campaign."

Earlier, in an effort to lure Rachel Alexandra to the Breeders' Cup to run against undefeated Zenyatta, the Breeders' Cup said it would add $1 million to the winner's share of the Classic if both horses ran. Jackson put an end to that possibility, reiterating his dislike of Santa Anita's synthetic surface.

-- Steve Asmussen has become the fifth trainer to win 5,000 races. The trainer of Rachel Alexandra reached the milestone in Toronto when Passion Rules won the seventh race.

ELSEWHERE

Bobcats co-owner dies in plane crash

A North Carolina businessman who was a co-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats has died in a single-engine plane crash.

Authorities say 49-year-old William "Skipper" Beck of Charlotte, N.C., died in the crash around 7:15 a.m. Friday at a local airport in South Carolina just across the state line from Charlotte.

The York County coroner and the Federal Aviation Administration say Beck was the only person aboard the Cirrus SR22. Witnesses say the plane returned shortly after take off, but crashed as it tried to land and caught fire.

-- The Timberwolves signed guard Ramon Sessions, after the Bucks declined to match their $16 million, four-year contract offer to the restricted free agent. Sessions averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists last year.

Track and field: Caster Semenya had heard the taunts and whispers - that she was different from other girls. Now the most intimate details of her anatomy are headline news, and there is worry about how the 18-year-old runner from a poor South African village will handle it all.

The Sydney Daily Telegraph reported that gender tests show the athlete has both male and female characteristics, but no ovaries or uterus, and has internal testes that produce large amounts of testosterone.

South African Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile expressed horror at the handling of the affair and insisted Caster is female. "Her human rights have been violated and her privacy invaded," Stofile said.

-- Sprinter Usain Bolt has pulled out of a meet in China, citing fatigue.

NHL: The fate of the floundering Phoenix Coyotes finally is in the hands of a U.S. bankruptcy judge after Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie and the NHL sweetened their offers to buy the team at the last minute. Judge Redfield T. Baum is expected to rule in the next week.

Speedskating: Apolo Anton Ohno swept the 1,000 and 1,500 meters at the U.S. short track national championships in Marquette, Mich., earning his first victories in six events.